After visiting the old city of Mostar it was time to explore other places around. We had limited time, but on the other hand, we wanted to see as many as possible of the most beautiful places to visit near Mostar. We made our research and decided to visit the most popular places at this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thus, we have visited Blagaj Tekija, Pocitelj and Karavice Waterfalls. In my blog post below, you can find the road conditions, things to know before going and information about the most beautiful places to visit near Mostar.
Previously, we went for a day trip from Dubrovnik to Kotor and then continued driving from Kotor to Mostar. After spending a day in Mostar it was time to hit the road again and explore the most beautiful places to visit near Mostar on our way back to Croatia.
Driving from Mostar to Blagaj Tekija
Trip Duration: 35 minutes
After leaving Mostar, we drove through some roads surrounded by fertile lands, orchards and vineyards. The beautiful, green colored Neretva River, the one that flows through Mostar city, was powerful enough even in late summer to irrigate all the green lands around. All the roads we drove through to the Tekija were in good shape.
Blagaj Tekija
Blagaj Tekija is a must place to visit near Mostar. It is a Dervish Tekija, a kind of Islamic monastery, settled in an incredible surrounding nature. The Tekija is built on a solid rock at the point where Buna river is sourced out of an under mountain cave. A very high rock cliff stretches just above the tekija. The complex which dates back to 17th century can be visited by tourists. You can even ride a boat into the under mountain cave. Or, you can just go and take in the surrounding incredible nature and sit at one of the restaurants on the banks of the river.
Driving from Blagaj to Pocitelj
Trip Duration: 25 minutes
We kept driving in Bosnia and Herzegovina accompanied with the beautiful Neretva River at some parts. After a short trip, we arrived to a well preserved, historical village of Pocitelj.
Pocitelj Historic Village
Pocitelj is a historic village on the bank of river Neretva. It is an open air museum and a protected National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was a delightful, refreshing stop there, on our trip out of Mostar. We climbed up to the stone fort for the panoramic views of the village and Neretva. We walked around the village and saw the mosque and the clock tower. Looked at the handcrafts sold by local salesmen. All was nice and cute…
Road trip from Pocitelj to Kravice Waterfalls
Trip Duration: 30 minutes
Lastly, we wanted to visit the famous Kravice Waterfalls on the Bosnian leg of our Balkans road trip. The waterfalls weren’t directly on our way, but we made a detour to visit them. Thus, we passed through newly constructed multi lane Bosnian tall road. However, when we reached to Kravice waterfalls signed place on our maps, we figured out that we were at the opposite banks of the valley. Maybe, you could hike to the waterfalls from there but we didn’t have the time. Obviously, the main gate to the waterfalls wasn’t close around. For a note, be sure of the location of the main gate to the waterfalls on your trip.
Eventually, we drove half an hour more, passing through many villages and countryside. By the way, the famous Catholic pilgrimage place Medjugorje is also short drive away of that area if you are interested in visiting there. Anyways, finally we found the parking place of the waterfalls. There were many cars and tour buses parked around. Obviously, we were at the right place this time.
Kravice Waterfalls, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kravice Waterfalls are pure heaven for nature lovers! There are tens of waterfalls all pouring from a large limestone onto the lake bellow. Even in late summer the water flow of the waterfalls was quite strong. At time of our visit, people were swimming in the lake, having a picnic at the shores and enjoying the nature. As it was our last place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we sat at the cafe by the lake and enjoyed a final plate of Bosnian cevapi.
Going back to Croatia
Croatian border is very close to Kravice Waterfalls. It took only 15 minutes to reach the border. We crossed the border, adding one more stamp to our passports, that filled up with border stamps in just two days. By crossing to Croatia we said goodbye to Bosnia and Herzegovina but we didn’t know at that moment that we one more would pass through Bosnian lands very soon.
After crossing Croatian border, we drove through plains and between mountains on our way. We couldn’t see the sea until we passed the last mountain and reached to seaside town Ploce. It took 30 minutes to drive from the border to the town of Ploce.
Normally we were planning to catch the ferry from Ploce to Orebic where we would catch another ferry to Korcula Island. Thus, we were planning to stay on Croatian lands to avoid one more border crossing. Unfortunately we missed the ferry in Ploce and had to drive all the coast to Orebic. This meant, two more border passings, since there was city of Neum, a Bosnia and Herzegovina land, between the two parts of Croatia lands on the Dalmatian coast. Indeed, we passed very smoothly through the borders and enjoyed all the journey along Dalmatian coast a lot.
Follow along our trip through beautiful places to see in Croatia:
Driving the coast of Croatia: Amazing Dalmatian road trip
Check out my posts for my whole Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina trip